How do you decided when they need more food?

CosmicOwl · 10-04-14, 11:42 AM

For a couple of months I have been feeding my yearlings on a 10-15% body weight every 6-7 days diet. It's been working out pretty well, but I've noticed that my grey rat snake seems to be getting hungrier as of late. His general approach to prey has been more aggressive and he digests a meal within about a day. Shortly there after, he is out prowling his cage multiple times a day. He's growing well and he's very active, so he's also very lean and muscular. As such, I've been thinking about feeding him a little more often.

I don't see anything wrong with a snake being fed a maintenance diet, as they will still grow. I'm conscious of the dangers of overfeeding, but I think the added food will be put to good use. So I'm calling upon the more experienced keepers for advice. How or when do you decide whether or not a snake should be bumped up to larger or more frequent meals? Is there anything in particular that you look for? Or do you think it's unnecessary?

**EL Ziggy** · 10-04-14, 04:33 PM

I think it's fine to vary your meal size and feeding frequency. The 10-15% of body weight guideline works well for my colubrids. Sometimes they get as little as 5% and they've eaten as much as 23% of their body weight. If they get a smaller meal they eat sooner, if they eat a larger meal they get a longer interval between meals. Sometimes they eat 4 days after a meal and they've gone as long as 10 days between meals. If your snake seems really hungry, feed him. If he starts to get a little chunky then scale back on his food. I'm not the most experienced keeper but this method seems to work well for me.

CosmicOwl · 10-05-14, 04:30 PM

Well, I offered him food again today and he readily took a large and a small mouse. He actually struck them both, which was a little surprising. For one reason or another, he's developing an appetite, so I'll keep an eye on him like you said. None of my snakes stopped eating when the temps dropped last year, so I'll make sure he doesn't put on any holiday weight lol.

**EL Ziggy** · 10-05-14, 04:55 PM

Sounds like he was a bit hungry Owl

. That was a pretty hearty meal. Trust me, don't feed them every time they seem/act hungry. My bulls would gladly eat every 3-4 days if I'd let them

CosmicOwl · 10-05-14, 05:01 PM

In terms of body weight, he could be on weaned rats, but he's on the slender side so I'm gjving him a few mice. Maybe in week or two I will offer him the smallest rat in the pack. Either way, I won't feed any more frequently than every 5-6 days.

**EL Ziggy** · 10-05-14, 05:05 PM

How much does he weigh? If you can get him on rats, I'd definitely do that.

CosmicOwl · 10-05-14, 05:34 PM

He weighs about 210 grams. I want to get him on rats, but the weaners look like they're a bit on the big side.

**EL Ziggy** · 10-05-14, 05:55 PM

The rat pups should work well. They're 20-35g each.

CosmicOwl · 10-05-14, 06:09 PM

That's true, but I have some mice that I'd like to feed off.

**Aaron_S** · 10-05-14, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

For a couple of months I have been feeding my yearlings on a 10-15% body weight every 6-7 days diet. It's been working out pretty well, but I've noticed that my grey rat snake seems to be getting hungrier as of late. His general approach to prey has been more aggressive and he digests a meal within about a day. Shortly there after, he is out prowling his cage multiple times a day. He's growing well and he's very active, so he's also very lean and muscular. As such, I've been thinking about feeding him a little more often.

I don't see anything wrong with a snake being fed a maintenance diet, as they will still grow. I'm conscious of the dangers of overfeeding, but I think the added food will be put to good use. So I'm calling upon the more experienced keepers for advice. How or when do you decide whether or not a snake should be bumped up to larger or more frequent meals? Is there anything in particular that you look for? Or do you think it's unnecessary?

Sometimes you need to up the size a bit higher than the 15% range. I've run into the same thing you're at. The snake is too big for it's current prey but just a tad too small for the next size.
Depending on species, I give the next size up. I may space out food an extra couple days apart though until the size of the snake catches up.

CosmicOwl · 10-06-14, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Sometimes you need to up the size a bit higher than the 15% range. I've run into the same thing you're at. The snake is too big for it's current prey but just a tad too small for the next size.
Depending on species, I give the next size up. I may space out food an extra couple days apart though until the size of the snake catches up.

Thanks for the advice. He's a snake that doesn't mind eating a few prey items in one sitting(he eats two mice faster that my yearling corn eats one), but they do seem to be getting digested a little too quickly. This Sunday I'll offer him one of the weaned rats and see if A) he's interested in it and B) if it keeps him satisfied longer than the mice.

CosmicOwl · 10-10-14, 02:55 PM

Weighed him today and he is 240 grams. I'm going to offer him a 33 gram weaned rat tomorrow and see if he takes it.

**EL Ziggy** · 10-10-14, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicOwl

Weighed him today and he is 240 grams. I'm going to offer him a 33 gram weaned rat tomorrow and see if he takes it.

Good luck CO- let us know how it goes!

shaunyboy · 10-10-14, 06:31 PM

i go by the shape of the snake.....

i keep my carpets lean and muscular

i also go by the size of the feeding bulge and how long the bulge lasts,before its fully digested and un detectable

cheers shaun

Derek1 · 10-10-14, 10:47 PM

CO, I'm joining a new forum and have no post for street cred, but I trust EL-Ziggy